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Updated: 18 January, 2025
I explain all the alternatives on how to go to Kutaisi from other areas of Georgia and how to get around the area.
The charming city of Kutaisi belongs to the Imereti region and is the third most populated and historically the second most important in Georgia.
Therefore, you will find different public transport options to get there, in this article I will tell you all about them and also explain how to get around the city.
Otherwise you will also find a wide variety of tours to do, below I leave you a selection with my 3 favorites.
✅ Kutaisi Caves and Canyons Tour – the most spectacular visit 😍
✅ Visit to the Kutaisi Monasteries – with a fabulous history and the best frescoes
✅ Kutaisi Wine Tour, visit to the old town, Bagrati and a wine cellar
How to go to Kutaisi?
1.- Plane (international flights)
Kutaisi has an international airport (KUT) and It is the only one in the country with low-cost flights operated by the Hungarian airline Wizz Air.
This airline has direct flights with Barcelona In winter, once a week (January, February and part of March) and the rest of the year there are 2 weekly flights.
They also have flights to other European cities, some of their most popular destinations are Poland and Germany. In addition to flights to the Middle East like Abu Dhabi.
Good news is Wizz Air expands its routes from Kutaisi and From June 2023, direct flights to Madrid will begin 2 times a week.
So if you want to fly cheap to Georgia, Kutaisi is your best option.
To book these flights I recommend this search engine which allows you to see all the alternatives.
Wizz Air is the main airline at Kutaisi airport (27 routes out of the 36 in total today), but there are some other airlines.
Public transportation from Kutaisi Airport
The airport It is well connected to Tbilisi and Batumi by train from the station next to the airport.
However, this option may not work for you because there are not many trains.
The best alternative is buses that have schedules coordinated with flight arrivals and departures.
This is the Georgian Bus and Omnibus Express company that They connect Kutaisi Airport with the center of Kutaisi, Tbilisi and Batumi.
⭐ In this article I tell you all the alternatives in detail about How to get from Kutaisi Airport to the city and other areas of Georgia, with prices and schedules.
2. Driving
One of the most practical ways to get around Georgia is by driving.
Although I only recommend it if you have a lot of experience driving because in Georgia the driving is fast and somewhat aggressive.
But it will allow you to get to know the country in a more flexible way.
This way you won't have to depend on public transportation, which is good for some places like big cities, but for small towns there are sometimes few or no options.
If you need rent a car in Georgia, I recommend this search engine that works only with serious Georgian companies.
Therefore, they have super cheap prices from about 20 euros per day, with insurance included and they do not usually ask for a deposit.
Some of the stops you can make between Kutaisi and Tbilisi are:
- The mining city Chiatura with its Soviet cable cars and the Katskhi pillar.
- Gori, Stalin's hometown and the cave city Uplistsikhe inhabited since the Iron Age.
- The former capital of Georgia, Mtskheta with its historic buildings declared a World Heritage Site.
- Then, from Tbilisi you can continue towards the David Gareja monastery.
- And finally cross into Armenia.
On the way to Batumi you can stop at:
- Tskaltubo to visit its sanatoriums and Soviet bathrooms.
- Zugdidi, Poti or Kobuleti.
- After Batumi you can continue the journey towards Türkiye*.
📢 Important: if you are driving from Georgia to Türkiye, you cannot enter with a car with a Georgian license plate unless you have Georgian residency.
3. Marshrutka
The best way to go to Kutaisi from other places in Georgia or from there to visit other places is with marshrutkas, that is, minibuses.
What you have to do is go to the station and ask the drivers where the marshrutka you need stops.
The marshrutkas They have a sign in front that says destiny, although only the main cities are written in our alphabet.
From Kutaisi
The departure from Kutaisi to Tbilisi, Batumi or nearby cities such as Chiatura or Tskaltubo is from the Kutaisi central station (google maps link).
To get there from the center of Kutaisi you can go by taxi or if not, there are several buses.
For example the no. 1 and 34 that pass next to the Colchis fountain. Below I explain more about how to get around Kutaisi.
Marshrutka schedule and price
The Departures from Tbilisi to Kutaisi and Kutaisi to Tbilisi are every hour from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., the price is 20 lari and takes about 4 or 4:30 hours.
Then The marshrutkas from Batumi to Kutaisi and Kutaisi to Batumi are every hour from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., cost 15 lari and the trip takes about 2:30 or 3 hours.
I recommend the following:
- Arrive about 15 or 20 minutes before departure, especially leaving in the first marshrutka, because once it's full, it's gone;
- Schedules are approximate and in the middle hours of the day there are also more departures if there are people and more minibuses manage to arrive;
- Is You better not leave to travel on the last departures, lest they cancel because there are few people.
From Tbilisi
The marshrutkas in Tbilisi towards Kutaisi depart from Didube station, in the area called Nige, which is just outside the metro station on the right.
From Batumi
The minibuses in Batumi leave from the station that is near the Agricultural market, to get there you can go with a Bolt (Uber-type application) which will cost you about 3 lari.
4. Train – Kutaisi I station
The city of Kutaisi has the train station quite close to the center, google maps link.
But the trains that go there are the old Soviet trains that are slow and uncomfortable, and it is not connected to the Kutaisi airport.
At this time, January 2023, There is only 1 train that leaves Tbilisi at 8:50 and arrives in Kutaisi at 14:30, it costs 9 lari.
Then from Kutaisi it leaves at 12:25 and arrives in Tbilisi at 17:44.
To see the updated train schedules you can use the website Georgian Railways, where you can also buy tickets, although it doesn't always work well.
Another very practical alternative is this website with the link where you can see schedules and book tickets for trains and other transport in Georgia and the Caucasus.
4. Train – Rioni station
An alternative to go to Kutaisi from Tbilisi or Batumi with modern and fast trains is to go to the Rioni station (Google map link).
These are trains connecting Tbilisi with Batumi, in addition to Tbilisi with Poti and Tbilisi with Zugdidi, all stop at the station next to Kutaisi airport.
Trains take only 3:50 hours from Tbilisi to Rioni and the ticket price is 14 lari.
Between the Rioni train station and the center of Kutaisi there are 10 km, by taxi it will cost you from about 10 lari. If you can't go with bus 3 that costs 40 tetris (0.4 lari).
5. Domestic flights
In Georgia there is an airline that has domestic flights connecting the main cities and mountain areas, it is Vanilla Sky.
This airline has 1 route from the airport of Kutaisi to Mestia in Svaneti which comes out every Wednesday now in January 2023.
But they change the calendar and in high season they usually have many more flights, the you can see on their website.
For this airline You can only buy tickets on their own website.
I recommend that you book in time because it is about special small planes to fly over the mountains that have only 15 seats.
How to get around Kutaisi?
1. Walk
If you are visiting Kutaisi for the first time I recommend staying in the center, This way you can reach the most interesting places in the city on foot.
Besides, The old town is quite small and is close to the Bagrati Cathedral, the main tourist place in the city.
2. Taxi
Then to move you can use Taxis are the least recommended option because you run the risk of them trying to scam you., although sometimes there are not many options.
3. Bolt
In Kutaisi you will also find Bolt which is an Uber type application, but unfortunately there are very few cars.
Depending on the time it can be quite a challenge to get someone to pick you up.
4. Marshrutkas and buses
The best alternative to get around the city is with marshrutkas (minibuses) and buses There are quite a few lines and they cost a few Tetris.
The most practical way to know which bus or mini bus works for you is with the Yandex maps application You enter your destination and it tells you the bus, time and stop, just as you would do with Google maps.
Although in my experience the schedule is not very precise, but the frequency is good during the day and you will not have to wait too long.
Final Thoughts
These are the ways of how to go to Kutaisi and get around the city. A city that I recommend you visit and take advantage of to make nearby visits.
In case I have left any topic untouched, leave me a comment below and I will help you in any way I can. And if you found the article useful, share it with other travelers. Have a good trip!
More about Georgia and the Caucasus
- What to do in Kutaisi: a complete guide
- Caves and Canyons near Kutaisi: Martvili and Prometheus
- Kutaisi Monasteries: Motsameta and Gelati
- What to do in Batumi: 27 essentials
- 21 Tips for Traveling to Georgia, a country in the Caucasus
Hello, I’m Andrea, the creator and writer of Viajeros Activos (Active Travelers). I’m a nomad, so I consider myself a full-time traveler. I’m passionate about good food and always looking for new adventures.
Hello, we are finishing organizing our trip to Georgia for the second half of September and I can't find the transportation schedules from Mestia to Kutaisi anywhere, I read on some sites that there is only one each day, but nothing is clear.
The application you put above appears as a browser in the play store.
Would you know any other options, I would appreciate it if you organized the days well, as we are very busy.
Thank you so much
Hello Silvia
From Mestia to Kutaisi you only have two types of transport, plane or marshrutka.
For the plane I left the website link, they do not have an application, it is a small airline that only flies in the mountains of Georgia. In fact, the link takes you to the schedules of the planes that are already posted until the end of September. If you are tight on time, perhaps it is the best option.
I assume you are referring to marshrutkas (minibuses), there is no app or website for this.
Technological issues have not reached the marshrutkas of Georgia. 😅 Although it has its charm!
I never went to Svaneti by marshrutka, but as I had found out, from Mestia they leave first thing in the morning between 8 and 9 in the morning (when it is full) and it is once a day, I don't know if in high season (July and August ) they put some more, but at the time you go I don't think there is more than one.
Likewise, I suggest you confirm it when you arrive in Mestia, because this may have changed. If not, write to the accommodation that you are going to stay and ask them, they are there, they surely know or can easily find out for you.
If the application you are talking about is Yandex, I mention that in the section to get around Kutaisi, to see the route of the local marshrutkas and buses, they are different from the marshrutkas that go to the mountains.
You tell me anything.
Enjoy the trip very much!
Hello friends, I would like to know if there is a cheap way to travel between Kutaisi directly to Gori? Are there buses or mini vans that make this journey? I plan to do it on Monday, October 30 at the end of the afternoon.
I think that from the Kutaisi I train station there is no afternoon train to Gori, right?
Hello Adonai
I already responded to this same message in the article How to get from Kutaisi airport to the city and other areas of Georgia..
I paste below what I answered before:
From Kutaisi the best way to go to Gori is by train.
There is only one train at 12:25, I leave you the link where buy the ticket.
Likewise, you will have to wait a few days to be able to buy it, because they are not yet available for the date you want, they are usually available 2 or 3 weeks before.
The other alternative is that you go with the marshrutka, but it is not direct to Gori, but rather it leaves you on the road and from there you would have to go by taxi. It is the one that runs between Kutaisi and Tbilisi.
Although, keep in mind that it can be a bit difficult to get a taxi on the road.
In case you haven't read it, I leave you the link to the guide to Gori and Uplistsikhe that I wrote, with everything to see and a very good place to eat.
Have a good trip!